Shooting Fire
by Verai
Summary: Bulma relieves stress by going out to shoot her trusty gun at her targeting drone, avoiding repairs on the gravity room. But Vegeta, with nothing to do, follows her to her secret shooting area...
1. Chapter 1 - Shooting Fire

A/N: I was watching Dragon Ball, and I noticed that Bulma has several guns and uses them all, sometimes on her friends. What if she never gives up that love of firearms? I know jack crap about guns, so I just picked a popular one. Feel free to educate me in a review. This takes place during those three years we all like to speculate about, after Yamcha & Bulma are quits.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Toei and the brilliant Akira Toriyama. I'm just playing with them.

* * *

 **Shooting Fire**

"You'll just have to wait! I'm going OUT!" Bulma stomped away, stopping by her room to grab her navy green messenger bag on the way out the door.

Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms, annoyed that the woman was walking away from him and refusing to fix the gravity room. He considered threatening her, but in the past that had ended with her shoving her face into his, throwing him off. He tried to shake his head of the memory that came unbidden, remembering her aqua eyes staring into his, unnerving him.

He had grabbed her shirt then, like he did with the other idiot fighters, but instead of looking fearful like they did, she continued to just glare at him, unafraid. In fact, she had moved closer, brushing her soft body against his. The pleasure his body took in her closeness troubled him, and he stepped back. The blaze of possessiveness threatened to devour his mind at her touch, and he didn't want to know what would happen if it engulfed him.

"You afraid?" she had whispered in his ear, sending involuntary shivers down his spine. She brushed her lips against his ear, and he let go of her in shock. Bulma grinned and skipped away from him, humming happily, leaving him wrestling with his self-control for a good two seconds before he managed to control himself and walk back to his room.

He had taken a long cold shower after that.

Coming back to the present, he thought about his options. He considered just going back outside to train under normal gravity, but what was the use? He was so used to 400G at this point that it was almost useless to train outside. Instead, he decided to sate his curiosity. Whenever she got extremely mad, Bulma took a certain bag and headed out. He decided to follow her this once, just to see where she went.

Bulma was riding her favorite motorbike down the expressway to an empty canyon just outside of town. She enjoyed the wind on her skin, the roar of the engine, and the feeling of freedom that riding gave her. It was a good half an hour outside of the city, so it was close enough that she could just do quick trips, but far enough away that she felt some semblance of peace.

She pulled into her favorite canyon area and unloaded her bag. She activated the target drone she had built for practice, and watched it unfold itself and take off into the air.

"Activate program level 10," she said. She felt like pushing her limits today as she checked her trusty Glock 19. She put her earplugs in and loaded her magazines into her specially designed belt, and filled the pockets of her khaki cargo shorts with a couple extras. She pulled out the shoulder holster, but decided against it. She didn't like the way it chafed her skin when she wore tank tops.

Taking aim at the drone, she began her target practice. Every shot rang through her arms, the feel familiar and thrilling all at once. The targeting drone was set to the highest level, where it would shoot back small stinging lasers, which would also register in the system to give her a status report later. It wasn't that she needed to, but she loved making graphs of her progress. She had gotten much better at shooting and dodging since she started last year, when her and Yamcha's relationship had started to go south. Now that she was single again, she had extra time to practice.

She could feel her stress slip away with each shot she took, each laser she dodged. _I know I can't fight like the others,_ she thought to herself, _but if something happens, if the androids win despite the warning, I need to be able to take care of myself_. She drove herself onwards for an hour until she was sweaty and exhausted, but she still pushed herself. _There won't be time for a break if I'm running for my life,_ she reasoned. She also didn't want to go back to face Vegeta and fix the gravity room for the fifth time this week.

Bulma didn't know that she had an audience. Vegeta had slowly flown above her, following her out to this hidden location, and watched, fascinated, as she trained with as much effort and focus as any of the other fighters. He was impressed; for being such a weak human with no apparent fighting skills, she had a surprising amount of tenacity. But after an hour, she started to slow, her movements more sluggish and clumsy. In the beginning she had been nailing every shot, now it was only every 1 out of 3. Not only that, but she was taking more shots from the drone, which threw her off a little more each time.

Then a bullet went astray and hit the cliff she had been hitting so many times before, and a large chunk of rock slid off the side. She looked up too late, realizing her mistake and tried to dodge, knowing that she wouldn't be fast enough. _Shit, I overestimated myself,_ she thought. Bracing for the impact, she kept running anyway, hoping that maybe she'd dodge it anyway through sheer dumb luck.

She suddenly felt herself lifted into the air, and looking down, the rock crashed down to where she had been. Bulma breathed a sigh of relief, ready to thank whoever had saved her. She had assumed it was Yamcha or Krillin, or even Goku, but to her utter surprise, it was Vegeta.

He had watched the rock start to fall, and without even thinking, he had flown down to grab her out of harm's way. _If she were injured, she wouldn't be able to fix the gravity room_ , he reasoned. But what was with the furious beating of his heart? The adrenaline surge wasn't proportional to the amount of danger or energy he used. He looked down at Bulma, wrapped in his arms with her back to his front. Her blue eyes captured his for a moment too long, and he became incredibly aware of the softness of her body against his. The beating of his heart was still hammering as strong as battle drum, and his eyes began to have a ravenous gleam the longer he held her.

Bulma was shocked, and could only stare at him. Then her pride kicked in.

"I would have been fine!"

"Hmph. You couldn't outrun a turtle."

She bristled and started to retort, but his sharp glare silenced her. She calmed down; he did save her, after all. She could feel his muscles pressing against her back, and wondered idly what it would be like from the front. She quickly shook the thought out of her head. _Seriously, this guy? No way. Well, maybe. I don't know anymore. It's been too long since I've been with someone, maybe it's finally getting to me._

He floated them back down to the ground, but he didn't let go right away. She turned her head to face him, but he just pulled her tighter against his chest. His breath tickled her ear, and the way one of his hands was slowly caressing her neck was causing her to panic a little bit because it reminded her of how easily he could snap her neck. He leaned in and inhaled her scent.

"Run," he whispered, and pushed her out of his arms. She stumbled a few steps forward and turned to see him lifting his hand, making a gun gesture.

"Bang," he said. The energy ray shot from his finger past her cheek, grazing it with its heat. Bulma's eyes widened. Then she ran.

He chased her down the canyon. "Shoot me," he growled, barely sounding out of breath as he kept pace with her.

"You're crazy! You want me to shoot at you, as in try to actually hit you?" Bulma asked incredulously, short of breath as she dodged another energy blast from him.

"Not just hit, go for a kill shot. Heart or head. You should be good enough to attempt it."

Bulma shook her head. "I… I can't shoot at a living person." Still shaking her head, she mumbled, "Not again…"

Her words did not go unheard. Now he really wanted to push her to her limits and then shove her over them. He began imagining her as a fighter. Would she be cold & calculating, or heated & passionate? He desperately wanted to know. With a burst of speed he caught up to her and stopped before her.

His appearance in front of Bulma was so sudden that she slammed into Vegeta's chest at full speed, bouncing off him and falling onto her ass on the hard dirt. She registered the pain, but as she looked up she began to get lost in a bad memory, one that she would rather forget forever. The image of an old attacker interposed itself over Vegeta's countenance, and she shivered.

Vegeta's eyebrow raised. Something about her vulnerable position tugged at something inside of him. He walked towards her as she scuttled backwards until her back hit the cliff wall. He crouched down, his arms slamming the wall on either side of Bulma's head. Leaning forward, he watched her blue eyes begin to glaze over. His lips grazed her ear as he took in her now trembling form.

"Fight back," he rasped in her ear. He traced the lightly burned graze on her cheek with a finger. Dipping his head down, he nipped at her neck. Her scent wafted around him, and he watched her muscles move as she swallowed. A growing heat inside threatened to take him over, and he knew he was pushing his own limits. The voracious _need_ he had for her made it hard for him to pull back, to remember why he was doing this.

"Fight or else," he growled in a low tone, almost desperate for her to stop him. If she didn't, he wasn't sure he could stop himself. His finger traced down her neck, then to her collarbone. He reached the soft cotton of her tank top and began to slide it down her shoulder, the fabric stretching, pulling on her skin. He kept tugging it down, watching her reaction. He knew he should stop, but he couldn't as his possessive nature started to assert itself. He wanted her to fight back. He wanted her to surrender to him. He wanted everything from her.

The sound of threads snapping punctuated the air as he kept pulling, never taking his eyes off of hers.

Something in Bulma's mind snapped with the threads. Her eyes were still glassy but became strangely focused, like she was seeing something different. The gun that she had been clutching tightly in her hand suddenly appeared in front of Vegeta's forehead, and he moved his head as she fired, the bullet grazing his cheek, a sliver of blood flowing down his face.

Silence.

And then her delicate eyebrows furrowed. Vegeta jumped back as she fired three more shots. He watched her stand up, a ruthless look in her eyes. This was the most interesting thing he had seen from her yet, and he felt something like the excitement before a battle flowing through him. He also simultaneously felt relieved that she had stopped him, and disappointment for the same reason.

"Come get me, human."

Raising her gun, Bulma charged, shooting with incredible accuracy. A small part of her mind was screaming, locked in a bad memory, while the rest of her body just reacted. Survival, her body said. Surviving meant being the last one left alive. She mechanically switched out the magazine when her bullets ran out and kept shooting.

Vegeta dodged, caught, and blasted the storm of bullets that came from the fiery war maiden. He had never wanted to possess something so much as he did at that moment. The cold fire in her eyes made her beautiful to him, like a battle goddess. Shooting small energy rays at her, he watched as she gracefully dodged each one, shooting back with a cold, calculating accuracy. But this time her shots went wide, and he scoffed.

"What, too tired to aim properly-"

His taunt was halted as he turned around to see the rocks fall towards him. He quickly dodged out of the way, surprised by her ingenuity. Then he looked down to see what she would do, and was shocked to see her staring at the rocks blankly, not moving out of the way.

"Idiot!" Snarling, he flew back to her, tackling her to the ground as the rocks came down on both of them.

When the dust had settled, Vegeta lifted himself up on his forearms, looking down at a blank stare from unfocused blue eyes. He could feel her soft body breathing shallow breaths underneath his, and he sat up, lifting her up with him. She sat in his lap almost like a porcelain doll, and he shook her. He recognized that look in her eyes; he had seen it often enough in new soldiers to know the look immediately.

"Bulma," he said in a much gentler tone than he knew he was capable of.

She blinked. Slowly she turned to look at him. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she didn't cry. She just stared at him. He started to rub her back absentmindedly in a comforting manner. Vegeta couldn't stand this faraway, hurt look. He wanted the fire in her eyes back. When did her pain start to bother him so much?

"What… what did I do this time?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her, and answered her question with another. "This time?"

Bulma looked down and stared at the gun in her hands. Throughout everything, she had gripped it like a lifeline. "The last time I blanked out like this… I came out of it with blood on the walls, on my clothes, on my hands, and two dead bodies in the room with me."

Vegeta just kept silent, watching her face, feeling her tension wind tighter in her body. He kept his arms around her, idly rubbing circles around her shoulders.

"I… I was kidnapped. Rich daughters are perfect ransom bait," she said, barely a whisper. "My parents were out on holiday, so they didn't get the call for three days. The first two days were just annoying, but on the third day, one of the kidnappers left, the one who had been holding the other back from his… baser desires."

Bulma swallowed, but continued. "He pushed me to the ground. Started to unbuckle his belt, which I recognized had a gun holster on it. After that… I don't know. I came to, and they were dead, and I was covered in blood. I think I had bruises and maybe a broken rib, but I didn't feel it at all. I just… I don't even remember when the second guy came back. I just remember two cops kneeling in front of me, one of them taking my gun, one of them shaking me, saying my name…"

She stopped and covered her face with one hand. One sob, then another, and another, until she was letting out everything in a long overdue catharsis. All the while, Vegeta held her, watching over her quietly.

She finally took a deep breath and gathered herself. Looking at her other hand still gripping the gun, Bulma smiled. She still loved guns; if not for her experience with firearms, she wouldn't have been able to save herself. Then she looked up at Vegeta, and her brain caught up with her. She was sitting in his lap! And on top of that, he was gently rubbing soothing circles on her back! Then she remembered what he had done to push her to that breaking point.

She slapped him.

Vegeta remained stoic. "Feel better?"

Bulma blinked. She was so good at compartmentalizing that she didn't realize that her old memory had been plaguing her for this long. Now that she thought about it, her mind didn't threaten to shut down when she thought about what happened.

"This is the first time I've told anyone this," she said slowly, realizing how deeply this memory had been buried in the recesses of her mind.

"Lucky me," he replied, his tone lighter than normal.

She looked at him and sat in silence, absorbing all that had happened. Vegeta had infuriated her, followed her out here, saved her, pushed her, shot at her, listened to her, comforted her, almost ripped open her tank top- She froze.

"If I hadn't reacted," she asked finally, "would you… would you have…" She trailed off, unable to finish her line of questioning.

"As much as I enjoy your fear, your surrender would be sweeter if you did it willingly," he said. She looked at him to see if he was just being arrogant or perverted, but his serious stare made her heart thud heavily in her chest.

"So… you would have stopped, then."

"I would have stopped," he said, unsure if he was telling the truth or not.

She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Strangely enough, she believed him. She felt it down to her toes; he wouldn't harm her like that. In fact, she was beginning to think that he didn't like seeing her hurt at all. She could guess what had happened by looking around her, and the fact that Vegeta's armor was scuffed around the edges helped her theory. She knew if she asked him, he'd deny saving her again, so she just acted on her feelings.

"Thanks Vegeta," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

Vegeta suddenly let go of her and got up, looking away. She could have sworn he was blushing, and she smiled. Dusting herself off as she got up, she ran off to get her bag and retrieve her drone. She didn't expect him to follow her, but she turned to see him casually walking towards her. He watched her quietly as she packed her things and slung the messenger bag over her shoulder.

"I'm fine, it's not like another rock is going to fall right now," she said.

"I don't care about that!" he said too quickly. "Just make sure you fix the gravity room," he added in a huff.

Bulma laughed as she climbed on her motorbike. "Right, right. I'll meet you at home." She started the engine up and started off, tearing through the canyon and back onto the main road. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed him flying alongside her, and smiled. Just when she thought he was easy to figure out, he did surprising things like this.

They got home, and Vegeta quickly went to his room and took a cold shower. He wondered how much longer he could contain the dark desire inside before it consumed him. He shuddered, knowing how close he was to just taking her out in the canyon. But he didn't want to force her; that wouldn't be real. He wanted her to belong to him because she wanted to.

 _My mind has officially turned to shit_ , he thought as he finished his shower and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Bulma went straight to the gravity room to figure out what was wrong with it. Now that she was calm, she spotted the problem right away and fixed it within the hour.

As she showered off the grime and dirt of GR repairs and the canyon, she reflected on her strange afternoon. She felt like the heavy lock on her bad memory had been smashed, and the memory purged of its poisonous ability to affect her to a debilitating degree. And all because of a tiring, crazy, emotionally heavy afternoon with a psychotic Saiyan. But she saw in his actions a deeper side to him, a side that she wanted to explore and see more of.

Bulma went to bed and dreamed of tan muscles and hard dark eyes that had a surprising hint of gentleness.

* * *

A/N: KABE-DON! ^_^

But seriously, I was writing a completely different fic when I started. Then about halfway through my focus changed, and it became this darker thing. So if it seems a little disjointed, that's why. A lemon sequel may happen if people ask for it. Also I hate the title, but I don't have a better idea… Please review! I can only get better when I get new perspectives.


	2. Chapter 2 - Shooting Lightning

A/N: Ya'll asked for a sequel...

Disclaimers: I don't own nothin'.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Shooting Lightning**

A long sigh came out of Bulma as she lay awake in her bed, staring at her ceiling. As a kid, she painted her ceiling black, and splattered glow-in-the-dark paint to make stars. It still appealed to her in her adulthood, but at this moment, she wanted to see some real stars. Maybe she could read her future.

 _Hah, yeah right. I can't predict a thing, especially this past month._

As she headed for her balcony, her thoughts wandered over to Vegeta's behavior since her accident in the canyon. He had been bipolar as all get out, and she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. It was summer and she often wore more revealing clothing. In the presence of anyone else, he'd ignore her or mutter some cutting remark about her cooking or her laziness. But every time they were alone, he'd do one of two things: demand she cover up more, or stare at her like a wolf eying his next meal.

She wasn't about to lie to herself and say she didn't enjoy the latter. It was half the reason she chose to wear her sexier outfits this summer. The other half was because she enjoyed seeing his prudish nature.

Not bothering to pull on her robe, she opened the sliding glass door to her balcony, and started climbing the ladder rungs she had installed on the exterior wall of Capsule Corp leading up to the roof. Reaching the small platform she had built for herself, she pulled herself up and dusted herself off, and was surprised to find she was not alone.

"Vegeta, why are you here?"

He was laying back with his arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the night sky. He looked over as she lay next to him, not touching, but if he even breathed hard, he'd brush up against all of her creamy, soft skin.

"Put something on, you look indecent," he grunted.

"Nice to see you too," she replied snarkily. "I am wearing the cutest and trendiest loungewear, just for your information." Bulma gestured towards her pink spaghetti strap top with lace accents, and her black boxer-style shorts with a pink stripes on each side. "Super comfy too." She mimicked his pose, staring up at the sky as well.

After a few silent moments, Bulma finally asked, "Why do you always tell me to put something on?"

He ignored her.

"Come on, tell me."

Silence.

Finally, she wrapped her hands around a bicep, idly noting how good his muscles felt, and shook him.

Vegeta finally turned his head to give her a gimlet stare. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I mean, I know I'm smoking hot, but what do you care?"

Suddenly she found her body covered in heat as Vegeta grabbed her wrists and pinned her down. He left a millimeter between his body and hers, and part of her yearned for him to crush her, to close that space that was so small and yet felt so vast.

His lips brushed against her earlobe as he growled, "It's dangerous to dress so indecently with a body like yours. A man could go crazy and just…" He bit her ear then, and she gasped, her body flushing. She should have been scared. She should have been cold with terror.

Instead, she felt like he had just set her on fire with that one bite, and she wanted more. _But this is Vegeta. I can't._ Her arms and legs twitched as she fought to keep her limbs from wrapping around him and pulling him to her. _Ooh, but I really, really want to find out._

Vegeta struggled to hold back. Her gasp and almost inaudible moan pushed at his need to make her completely his. But he knew she would just be a distraction from his main goal of becoming the strongest. He would overcome his primal desires and work towards a higher goal.

But having Bulma underneath him, staring up at him with her clear blue eyes and her strawberry scent wafting around him, clouded his senses. He shook his head and got up and away from her. Levitating off the roof, he distanced himself from her enough so that her scent wasn't driving him mad.

"Any man could overpower you. Trust no one," he said as he flew back to his room.

Once he was gone, Bulma took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. She continued to stare at the stars, calming herself from her heated encounter. His words swirled around in her head, making her wonder about his intentions for the rest of the night. Was he being kind in a roundabout way? Or was it a veiled threat? Or could it be, possibly, that he was warning her against himself?

 _Maybe I'm playing with fire, constantly teasing him the way I do. I mean, he seems to have iron willpower, but what if his self-control snaps? What would I do? What COULD I do against that level of strength?_

She shivered all of a sudden, but it wasn't from fear. Just imagining Vegeta's powerful body on hers, taking her, dominating her... Finally she sat up. "So much for a relaxing night," she mumbled as she got up and went back to her room.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Day passed, and Vegeta appeared to return to his normal routine of either ignoring her or arguing with her about fixing the gravity machine. Bulma couldn't reconcile the man who was being a complete dick with the man who had held her so gently a month before.

 _Whatever, I can't spend all my time trying to figure him out_ , she thought one Friday night as she got ready to go out. She hadn't been clubbing in forever, and though usually she had gone with Yamcha, tonight she figured she could go on her own, maybe find a distraction from…

Her brain froze as memories of almost every time Vegeta had walked around the house shirtless replayed in her head. She shook her head, but her mind was relentless, and she buried her face in her hands. "I need a distraction," she grumbled as she put on her hottest slinky black dress. The bottom of the dress reached her mid-thigh and wrapped tightly around her, and the plunging neckline of her dress reached her navel with corset style laces criss-crossing up to her breasts, barely keeping the cloth wrapped around her. The back of her dress was practically non-existent, reaching the small of her back.

"Oh yeah, I'm going to kill it tonight!" she said happily. She didn't believe that she should cover up just because some men weren't taught to respect a woman properly. If a man tried anything, she'd kick his ass. She put on her makeup, slipped on some sexy gladiator style stilettos, grabbed her little purse, and headed out the door.

Vegeta watched from the roof as she threw out a capsule car, climbed in, and drove off. He gritted his teeth, seeing her look as amazing as she did, and tried desperately not to care. _I must train_.

He remembered her scent, the way she looked under him that night.

 _I must train. Training. TRAIN-_

Vegeta turned away and flew back into the gravity room, ignoring the part of him screaming to chase after her.

 _I can't afford to be distracted. She's beautiful, but she'd just be a hindrance. I just want to defeat the androids, defeat Kakarot, and get the hell off this planet._

He shut the door to the gravity room and set the gravity to 400.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Bulma had reached her destination: downtown West City. She stepped out and encapsulated her car in front of one of the trendiest clubs in town. Walking towards the entrance and ignoring the line, she waved her ID at the bouncer in the front. The bouncer took one glance at her and immediately waved her through with a polite "welcome back Ms. Briefs."

Part of her felt a little bad about bypassing all the people, but at the same time, she really didn't want to wait in line. Sometimes fame had its uses. She usually tried to stay out of the limelight, but her occasional appearances in public were never ignored. She smiled at some of people taking photos of her as she walked inside.

The beat of the music, the dim lights, and the mass of people made it easy for her to just lose herself in the crowd and become anonymous. Like a fish in a school, she made her way to the middle of the dance floor because she knew it'd be harder to get grabbed off to the side. Without Yamcha here, she knew she'd have to look after herself.

 _Not that I wouldn't be able to watch out for myself, it's not like he paid 100% attention to me anyway_ , she thought, a little bitterly. There were more that enough instances of her pushing away guys who thought she was alone because Yamcha had conveniently "lost her in the crowd." She was mostly over it, but it still stung a little.

Her favorite song came on, and she lost herself to the rhythm, just dancing and forgetting all of her problems. Her heart heavy with the past and with current dilemmas, she didn't pay attention to how she was slowly being herded to the side of the dance floor, and then realized a little belatedly that she was too close to the rear service exit.

Turning to return to the middle of the club, she saw two big men standing in her way. One had short dark hair and a tan suit. The other had blond hair tied back in a short queue, and a blue, pinstriped suit.

"Please move out of my way," she said, standing akimbo. When they didn't respond, she kicked the blond man in the balls, and he instantly went down. The other man took a step back, and she proceeded to walk past him.

A beefy arm wrapped around her waist. She twisted in his grasp, slapping him in the face. He clamped her mouth shut with his hand, but she bit down hard, and he yelped in pain and let her go. She ran back towards the crowd, but the blond man she had kicked was back up and wrapped an arm around her neck, muffling her scream. His suit jacket was protecting him from her angry bites, so she focused more on trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

The dark haired man grabbed her by the legs to stop her from kicking, and the two of them proceeded to exit the club via the back. The man holding her by the neck laughed as he reached into his pocket and threw a capsule. An unmarked, black car popped out.

"You're worth a pretty penny, little lady," the blond man whispered in her ear. She struggled harder, but only managed to loosen a strap of her dress off her right shoulder. Deciding to go limp for now, she thought of her potential next move, and waited for an opening.

 _I… might be in trouble here. Maybe someone saw me getting kidnapped?_

But part of her knew that if someone had noticed, there would have been a bigger commotion by now. Clearly no one wanted to mess with these two.

 _Well damn. I've been complacent; I thought this whole kidnapping thing was passé._

The two men set her on her feet, but the blond man still had his arm around her neck. She promptly stomped on his foot with her stiletto heel, and he loosened his grip on her just enough for her to slip out from under him. She began to sprint towards the main road, but the dark haired man tackled her, her shoulder scraping against the asphalt. He easily picked her back up and threw her into the back of the car. She immediately sat up and tried to kick her way out, but he caught her leg and pulled her towards him, backhanding her. Her head spun with pain, and she cried out, although whether out loud or in her head, she wasn't sure.

 _Help… Vegeta..._

~o~o~o~o~o~

A/N: AHAHA, CLIFFHANGER!


	3. Chapter 3 - Shooting Stars

A/N: Should be the end. Did I mention this is kind of AU? There's no way this would work in the real timeline.

Disclaimers: I only own the ideas in my head. Also some citrus all up in here.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Shooting Stars**

Vegeta was irritated. No, he was pissed. He couldn't focus on his training, and his mind kept wandering to a pair of blue eyes. Finally he could no longer repress his urge to find Bulma and… yell at her? Glare at her?

Pin her down and make her gasp like that one night?

He shook his head and knew that was impossible, but he still turned off the gravity and left the room, immediately heading in the direction he remembered her car going.

Searching for her ki, he pinpointed her flaring energy signal. His heart stopped as he noted it wavering, and zipped to her location.

He landed in front of two men stuffing something into the back seat of a black car. He saw a pair of legs and heels that he'd recognize in a heartbeat sticking out of the door.

"Give her to me."

"Fuck no," the blond man said. He immediately pulled a gun on him. "Move along little man, you saw nothing."

Vegeta sneered. "Oh? And what are you going to do with that toy?"

Three shots were fired and three bullets were caught in the Saiyan's powerful grip, leaving blondie in shock as his jaw dropped.

The other man attempted to tackle Vegeta to the ground, but it was like running into a brick wall. The dark haired man fell to the ground, rubbing his head in pain.

Then he heard a moan from the car.

"Vegeta…"

Unbeknownst to the humans, Vegeta's eyes burned with vengeance when he heard her whispered plea. He wasted no more time with the fools, and punched each of them once, knocking them out cleanly. He quickly checked to make sure he hadn't killed them, since the woman would surely screech at him if he did. He noticed that they had scratches and bites from his little war maiden.

 _When did I start thinking of her as mine?_

He leapt over to the car and saw her lying in the back seat, trying weakly to get up. He gently lifted her out of the car, and flew her home. Her head lolled against his chest, and his heart thundered as he looked upon her pained features.

Reaching Capsule Corp, he landed on her balcony and opened the sliding glass door. He lay her on her bed and sat on the edge, touching her bruised cheek. She winced, and he pulled his hand away. He eyed all of her scrapes and went to find a first aid kit.

Bulma, figuring that he was done with her for the night, closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She was grateful that at least he had brought her home, and didn't expect any more from him. _I'll thank him in the morning_ , she thought as she started to doze off.

She awoke to the feeling of the bed dipping under his weight as he leaned over to clean her scratches and tape gauze to the larger abrasions on her shoulder and arm. She watched him quietly, just taking in the fact that the homicidal alien that had tried to kill them all a few years ago was now caring for her in such a sweet manner. There was something surreal about the moment, and she didn't want it to end.

He set the first aid kit on her nightstand, then immediately turned to find those two bastards to vaporize them, but a soft hand stopped him.

"Did you kill them?" she asked in a whisper.

"...No. But I will."

"Don't."

Vegeta sputtered, "Why not?! Why do you care if they live?"

Something in Bulma's eyes made him stop his rant. "I don't. But they don't deserve death. It would be a mercy." She looked away from him, but he could tell that the cold fiery look in her eyes was still there. "I'll deal with them on my own."

Vegeta stared at her, suddenly wanting to pull that icy flame against him and turn it into a hot blaze of passion.

Bulma finally looked back at him, and noted that he was staring at her rather strangely, like she had grown a second head or something. She immediately felt ashamed that she let her colder nature come out. She had always repressed it, but sometimes, when things like this happened, she couldn't help the anger that flowed through her veins.

Of course, she fully intended on finding the two hooligans and making them pay. She had access to all of the police records in the city, and it was nothing to her to hack in a couple extra crimes to make their sentences longer or worse. And of course, she could always appear in court as a victim and play up the injuries on her. The scratches on her shoulder and the bruise on her face weren't that bad, but they would certainly sway the jury.

But for now, she turned her attention to Vegeta, who had come out of nowhere and saved her. Twice now he had been there for her. Twice he had saved her and been uncharacteristically gentle. She reached up and touched his cheek.

Vegeta closed his eyes and leaned almost imperceptibly into her touch. In an entire universe where he had no home, on this mudball of a planet filled with fools, he had found a single bright star.

"Get some sleep," he said gruffly as he tried to pull away. But her hand, though her strength was pitiful even for a human, held him in place as if it was the strongest metal in the universe.

"Stay, please," she asked quietly. After a few moments, he finally assented with a slight nod. Taking off his boots and gloves, he crawled into bed with her. She lay next to him, not touching but barely a hair's breadth away.

But within a few minutes of staying so close to her, his body wanted more, and he started to leave again, unsure if he could control his clawing desire.

Bulma looked at him with sad eyes. "Why are you leaving?" she asked quietly.

Vegeta looked away. "You're… hurt. I…" He couldn't complete his thought outloud. _I can't lay next to you and control myself right now._

Bulma smiled and sat up. _Can I do this? Yes, I think I can._ She let her dress slide off her shoulders. "You want this?" she whispered as she crawled into his lap, taking advantage of his momentary shock to bring her lips close to his. "Do you want me?"

Vegeta's eyes darkened. His resistance was done, and he pushed her down on the mattress, his hands holding her wrists down. He nudged her legs open so he could grind his hips against her core, and she moaned, wanting him more than anything.

"Last chance," he rasped in her ear. "After this, I won't hold back."

"I made my choice," she whispered.

Vegeta growled and left ki rings encircling her wrists, locking her in place as he tore her dress open, touching her everywhere as he made his way down her body to her legs. Grabbing her ankles and spreading them apart, he made two more ki rings to keep her open to him. He leaned back and pinned her with a dark, lustful stare.

Bulma shivered at his hot attention on her. Her dress was in tatters and her legs were open for him. Her body was on fire from his rough fondling. She could feel her black lace panties getting wet as she watched him take off his shirt and slide his training shorts off. _Commando, I should have guessed. And… Wow._

Vegeta slid back up her body until he was holding her neck with one hand, his other stroking her inner thigh, first one side, then the other, making her skin extremely sensitive. The pressure on her neck increased slightly, and Bulma gasped, wondering if this was a good idea after all.

"Remember, no turning back," he whispered, and grabbed her panties and tore them off in one swift movement. His fingers started to circle her inner lips, skirting past the one place she wanted him to touch the most.

"Please," she gasped as he started to suck on one of her breasts, biting down on her skin.

"Please what," he said in a low voice, stroking her neck then reaching to the back of her head and pulling her hair to expose her neck. He started nipping at her soft, delicate skin, finally reaching her pulse. He licked her then, and kept nibbling on her until his lips were above the point where her neck and shoulder met. He took a deep breath there and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Please take me," she moaned, his fingers near her core driving her mad with want. She shifted her hips, unable to move her legs and wrists, trying to get him to touch her where she wanted him to. But he then removed his hand from her and lifted himself up from her. The loss of his warmth made her cry out with need.

Vegeta smirked. "Then you need to be good."

Bulma nodded slightly, his hand still holding her hair. She had become desperate for his touch.

He stayed above her, but started to play with her lower lips again, circling, always circling, but now with the occasional flick on her clit. Each time she'd gasp and want more, but she didn't dare move lest he give up on her completely. She could feel herself winding up like a spring, tighter and tighter. Her eyes closed as she focused purely on feeling.

"Look at me," Vegeta snarled, and she her eyes snapped open to stare into his.

Then he suddenly forced two fingers inside of her, and his thumb stroked her clit hard. She screamed as she came, the buildup having been oh so worth it.

As she came down from her high, she felt him release the ki bands around her wrists and ankles. However, she didn't dare move other than her heavy breathing; she wanted more, so she had to play his game. She looked up at him for what was next.

Vegeta watched his little minx as she recovered, her breasts heaving prettily with her breaths. When it looked like she had caught her breath, he flipped her over. She yelped in surprise as he lifted her hips up and started grabbing her ass, massaging her in a rough manner.

"Hey, what-"

Bulma felt him grab her hair with one hand and pull her up, arching her back. He leaned over and bit her neck as he entered her with a swift stroke from behind, stopping her words as she let out a wordless cry instead. He filled her to the hilt and stayed still, his teeth still locked into her neck.

Her body accepted his intrusion, and he began to move, slowly at first. He let go of her neck with his teeth finally, tasting a small drop of blood. Grabbing her hips, he started to take her faster, harder, until she could barely breath from the force of his impalements. With one hand he pushed her back into the mattress, her breasts rubbing against the sheets. He reached around and rubbed her core until he could feel her shaking around him. Leaning over her, he pulled her hair back once more and spoke low into her ear.

"Come for me."

Bulma felt her climax rock her whole body, making her shudder violently as she gave a strangled cry. Vegeta slowly let her slump down to the mattress, pulling himself out of her and then flipping her over onto her back. As he grabbed her thighs and spread her open, she gasped.

"We're… not done?"

"Clearly not," he said snarkily as he drove into her once more, making her moan. "We won't be done until I've completely taken you." He started moving in earnest, touching her everywhere while he penetrated her body, driving her back to a frenzied high.

Vegeta didn't want to stop, it felt far too good to have her pliant and submissive underneath him. But he could feel his completion nearing, and as he looked down at her, panting and moaning, he reached down and started playing with her clit again. Bulma writhed a little more and then suddenly arched her back and went rigid as her eyes rolled up in her head and she cried out.

It took him a moment to realize she was crying out his name like a mantra.

Hearing her say his name like she worshipped him was a heady feeling. He leaned down and bit her neck again as he came, muffling his growls of pleasure against her skin. His climax felt so good and lasted for so long that he wasn't sure when he finally collapsed beside her.

Bulma's eyes slowly slid shut. She was exhausted, but extremely satisfied. Before she fell asleep, she felt a blanket being pulled over her, and an arm wrap around her and pull her into a wall of warmth.

A few hours later, Bulma awoke to an empty bed, and her alarm clock showing 3:18am. She stretched, pulled on a robe, and went outside to climb the roof. _At least I can catch the meteor shower tonight_. _Besides, I think I know where Vegeta went._

She climbed up to see a familiar form and smiled, knowing her hunch had been correct. Vegeta lounged on the roof platform in just his training shorts, staring up at the night sky. She lay down next to him, and he glanced at her for only a split second. She turned her head to look at him, and winced at the sore spot on her neck.

"Did you have to bite my neck?" she said, only mildly annoyed.

Vegeta looked at her and just shrugged gallingly. "You're mine," he said simply.

Bulma stared at him as he returned his gaze to the stars, and her mind immediately went to a nature program she had idly watched recently. The narrator had said that many animals bit their mates during sex to hold the other down as a safety measure, or to show dominance. In a strange way, it made sense to her that he would bite. Like a wild animal, still not trusting her to hurt him in the end, he had done what he could to ensure his own safety.

She doubted a repeat of tonight's passion would happen, but at least he wasn't telling her to get lost.

Laying next to him and feeling like she understood him a little bit better, Bulma looked up at the skies as the meteor shower began.

* * *

A/N: Done! Thank you all who have reviewed and favorited. You've made my day.


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